Bank out of cash, daily wager waits to cremate wife

November 30, 2016 09:53

On Tuesday afternoon, 65-year-old Munni Lal, a daily wage worker, sat next to his wife's body under a makeshift plastic tent at a JJ cluster in Noida, lighting incense sticks and waiting for his sons. Around 2 pm on Monday, his wife, 61-year-old Phoolmati Devi, had died at a hospital in Noida, a few months after being diagnosed with stomach cancer.

"At 9 am, I took her to Dharamshila Hospital, which referred us to another private hospital. We took an auto and went there. She passed away at 2 pm. We had to pay Rs 600-700 in cash for things such as syringes, food and medicines," said Lal.

When Lal returned to his one-room home in Sector 9 on Monday evening, he did not have cash to pay for his wife's last rites. So he went to the Bank of India branch in Sector 9, where his 30-year-old son has an account.

"The manager told me the branch does not have any money. I told them about my situation but no one listened," Lal said.

Eventually, at 3 pm on Tuesday, Lal said he received Rs 2,500 from a police officer, while a politician gave him Rs 5,000. "My wife would not want us to use borrowed money for her cremation. The district administration eventually gave money to the bank, after which we withdrew Rs 15,000 from my son's account. We will perform her last rites tomorrow morning," Lal said.

Representational image.

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